Stop, Thief! Dreamworks Accused of Stealing Kung Fu Panda

Hmmm, recent news suggests that phenomenally successful animation studio Dreamworks is being accused of having its fingers in the biscuit tin by a man who claims they stole the idea for Kung Fu Panda from him.

Screenwriter Terence Dunn has filed a complaint at the Los Angeles Superior Court, detailing that he pitched the idea way back in 2001 and was told in early 2002 that Dreamworks had rejected the idea. Dunn's pitch included - apart from the Kung Fu loving panda - a tiger, snake, leopard, crane, tortoise and monkey... so you can imagine his surprise when they all turned up in the hit movie.

Read more about the Kung Fu Panda accusations after the jump...
Hmmm, recent news suggests that phenomenally successful animation studio Dreamworks is being accused of having its fingers in the biscuit tin by a man who claims they stole the idea for Kung Fu Panda from him.

Screenwriter Terence Dunn has filed a complaint at the Los Angeles Superior Court, detailing that he pitched the idea way back in 2001 and was told in early 2002 that Dreamworks had rejected the idea. Dunn's pitch included - apart from the Kung Fu loving panda - a tiger, snake, leopard, crane, tortoise and monkey... so you can imagine his surprise when they all turned up in the hit movie. The film, starring the voice of Jack Black, globally grossed an impressive $631.7 million upon its release in 2008 with a sequel expected next year.

There's not much else to report seeing as the Spielberg/Katzenberg/Geffen-founded Dreamworks has made no comment about the accusation - they're probably more concerned about their Shrek cash cow, as the fourth episode Shrek Forever After seems to be struggling at the US box office.

Whilst he waits for a reply, I'm sure that Dunn can keep himself busy seeing as his occupation is listed as 'Ivy League-educated Chinese-American writer-producer-teacher-philosopher'. Only time will tell if he can add 'Creator of Kung Fu Panda' (or 'LA Courts Time Waster') to that impressive CV.